This year's BFI Flare will open with Amrou Al-Kadhi’s tale of a lonely Arab drag queen, Layla. It will close with the world première of Lady Like, which follows San Francisco-based drag queen Lady Camden on her journey to fame through RuPaul's Drag Race. There will also be a special screen talk with Elliot Page about his career and his latest film, Close To You, made with Dominic Savage.

The festival runs from 13 to 24 March.

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Box office and information

Flare Latest Reviews

Merchant Ivory
Merchant Ivory
The story of cinema's longest lasting partnership.
Close To You
Close To You
A young man happens to encounter with an old friend on his way back home to a dreaded family reunion that forces him to confront long-buried memories.
Orlando, My Political Biography
Orlando, My Political Biography
Docufiction interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
Aligned
Aligned
Two dancers find a connection that goes beyond their art.
Lesvia
Lesvia
The history of the lesbian community that sprang up on Lesbos in the 1970s.
Chasing Chasing Amy
Chasing Chasing Amy
A documentary about the complex legacy of Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy for LGBTQ+ people and its life-saving impact on director Sav Rodgers.
I Don't Know Who You Are
I Don't Know Who You Are
A gay musician spends his weekend trying to find the money for HIV-preventive treatment after being sexually assaulted by a stranger.
Reas
Reas
A group of prison inmates re-enact their lives and sentences, balancing memories with fantasy.
Love Lies Bleeding
Love Lies Bleeding
Reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
27
27
Alice lives at her parents' place at the age of 27 with no private life or a relationship. It takes a bicycle accident and a short coma to make her realize that it's time to move out.
A-Z of Flare 2024 reviews >>>

Flare Features

Life in full colour
Fawzia Mirza on intergenerational connection, Bollywood, queerness and The Queen Of My Dreams
On reflection
Sav Rodgers on Ben Affleck, Kevin Smith, coming of age on camera and Chasing Chasing Amy
Insult and injury
MH Murray, Mark Clennon and Nat Patricia Manuel on I Don’t Know Who You Are
Complete love
Apollo Bakopoulos on self-realisation, dance, Athens, New York and Aligned
A difficult age
Flóra Anna Buda on the challenges facing young adults, and making 27
'A lot of the filming was very cathartic for me'
Tom Stuart on Good Boy, 'a love letter' to his mum
A sporting chance
Julia Fuhr Mann on exploring athletic bias and looking beyond the binary in Life Is Not A Competition, But I'm Winning

Flare News

2024 BFI Flare line-up announced
Festival to open with Amrou Al-Kadhi's Layla
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